Trucker dies in crash; I-10 westbound shut for hours

Crews clean up the site of a fatal 18-wheeler accident that took place about 11:00 p.m. Thursday night on IH-10 west near the Ralph Fair road exit. Traffic was diverted in the area off of the interstate until about 7:00 a.m. Friday morning June 22, 2012. John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News

Photo: San Antonio Express-News

A wreck that involved three tractor-trailers left a man dead and Interstate 10 westbound shut for hours early today.

Officials said the crash occurred about 11 p.m. along I-10 near Ralph Fair Road.

Bexar County sheriff's Sgt. Mario Cervantes said a driver ran into another big rig that had slowed along the highway.

The first driver was crushed to death by a load of 40-foot steel pipes the truck was carrying.

The impact from that wreck sent the second vehicle crashing into a third big rig.

The driver of the second big rig was taken to University Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, and the third motorist was unharmed in the crash.

The highway was closed for about eight hours while officials inspected the crash site and crews worked to secure the pipes back on the first 18-wheeler before it was towed away.

Early reports incorrectly said that a second person — a woman — had been killed in the wreck.

While deputies were at the scene of that fatal crash, another man was found dead behind the wheel of his vehicle across the county on the far South Side.

Sgt. E.M. Conger said deputies found the 37-year-old man about 4 a.m. at the 23000 block of Trumbo Road. He apparently was traveling south when he came upon a curve and went off the road.

The man apparently overcorrected, which caused his vehicle to roll over, strike a tree and land upside down. He was not wearing a seatbelt.